Women's shelter home: State accepts recommendations

The state government has accepted almost all the recommendations made by family court judge Swati Chauhan for the comprehensive improvement of the state-run Navjeevan Maheela Vastigruha at Mankhurd.

Government pleader Dhairyasheel Nalawade on Thursday informed the Bombay high court that the government had accepted all recommendations.

Judge Chauhan, appointed by the high court to monitor the functioning of the home, had recommended extensive training for the shelter home staff , stating that these homes were for shelter, protection and rehabilitation and rescued women required the assistance of sensitive, trained, capable and patient staff members there.

Chauhan also suggested measures to speed up the process of repatriation of several Bangladeshi women housed at the state-run shelter home and that the state government should adopt 'Ujjwala', a comprehensive scheme framed by the Central Government for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims of trafficking.

The report suggests that police plan properly before executing a mass-raid to rescue women in prostitution and that magistrates dealing with cases registered under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act must meticulously verify that no victim is kept detained in a protective home beyond a period of three weeks.

The recommendations also include giving a welcome kit - including clothes and bedding - on the victims' arrival, and another kit including essential items and contact numbers of counselling centres on their departure along with ensuring some level of employment so that the rescued women do not go back to prostitution again.

Chauhan had submitted the report as ordered by a division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice Nitin Jamdar. The bench was hearing a suo moto public interest litigation based on an e-mail addressed by a social activist.

The report highlighted apathetic conditions of women housed at Navjeevan Vastigruha and serious allegations of the inmates being sexually exploited.